Page 18 of The Goblin in the Sink Drain
“I had nothing and no one when I came here. Now I have you. Seems like a good trade to me.”
“Let’s see how you feelafterwe’ve had our meeting with Dad.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She reached over and took my hand. “Hear me?”
“Yeah.” I sniffled into my shoulder. “But is sticking with me just an excuse for you to torment Liam?”
“Enough about Liam. Let’s talk about Rían. How do giraffes woo prospective mates?”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“I’m already planning a safari-themed wedding for you guys in my head, so no.”
A low groan slipped out of me, and I thumped my head against the glass. “Please no.”
“I’ll show you some of the sites I’ve bookmarked on my phone. Then you’ll see how serious I am.”
“Just because he wants to marry me doesn’t mean I want to marry him.”
“I saw y’all holding hands.” She made kissy noises. “You can’t resist his giraffe-y charms.”
“I’m going to nap.” I closed my eyes. “Wake me when you come to your senses.”
As soon as she began humming “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” I wrote her off as a lost cause but smiled to myself anyway.
Sloane opted for fast food so as not to slow down the rescue mission. Mostly burgers, a few chicken sandwiches, and one random hotdog. I almost wished she had opted for dine-in to buy us more time.
The more she ate, the worse I felt about our upcoming meeting. The only reason why she would gobble protein in bulk was if she anticipated requiring extra energy for a fight or as fuel to heal injuries. Clearly, she expected her punishment to be severe. Me? I wasn’t sure what price Dad—or Mercer—would put on my disobedience, but I was sure I would pay it in blood. Even if it wasn’t my own.
“Last chance.” As I watched the road sign for the driveway flash past, I mashed theendbutton on my last phone call. “You could get out here.”
“I can’t hear you over the music.”
For the past ten minutes, I had been listening to her chew. “What music?”
Dialing the radio up full blast, she mouthed, “This music.”
We didn’t make it halfway up the drive before six men on four wheelers peeled out of the surrounding woods to escort the SUV up to the main house. Mercer wasn’t among them. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
No sooner had Sloane thrown the SUV into park than the front door to the house where I grew up was thrown wide open, and Dad marched out with his wolf glowing in his eyes. Mercerexited behind him in a huff as if Dad had run the whole way here and he was out of breath from the sprint due to his injuries.
Normally, he would have healed from the wounds Sloane and I dealt him within hours, but silver meant recovery would be slow and painful for him. I wished Mercer hadn’t left me no choice but to hurt him to get my point across, but I wasn’t sorry I had defended my friend.
“Whatever happens, happens.” Sloane bobbed a shoulder. “Don’t get your ass kicked trying to save mine.”
Two men yanked open her door, and she raised her hands to show she was unarmed. They dragged her out by her wrists, throwing her to the gravel drive on her stomach. One of them planted a boot on her spine to pin her while Mercer prowled over to open my door.
“I want proof of life.” I kept my face neutral, my voice calm. “Where are Tara and the others?”
“Go talk to your dad.” He offered me a hand down. “He’ll answer all your questions.”
“I somehow doubt that.” I ignored his offer and got out on my own. “I want Sloane with me.”
“Your friend broke pack law, and she must be punished in accordance with our rules.” His eyes glowed as his wolf peered out at me, the warning clear. “You should worry about yourself, Anie.”
A girl never forgets the first time a man threatens her, and Mercer had never so much as toed the line when it came to me. For him to cross it, he must not fear reprisals from my father. Probably not a great indicator of how this meeting was scheduled to go. For Sloane or for me.
Wary of my reception, I didn’t let my worries show as I strode to Dad and waited for him to set the tone.
